Commence Fireworks
by Lytrial
Summary: Four years after the rebellion, Katniss and Peeta are living in District 12, Gale is living in District 2. Gale decides to come for a visit and finds that there is something going on between Katniss and Peeta. Gale's POV and Katniss' POV.
1. Hey Catnip

**Gales's POV**

I breathe in the cool autumn air as I jump eagerly out of the hovercraft. _District Twelve_ I think. My whole past lies here. I walk around the small clearing where we landed. "We will page you when we need you back, Mr. Hawthorne," the pilot calls. I wave him away and walk off into the woods. As I walk, I remember the places where I used to hunt for my family. _Now we all live in District 2... _I smile sadly at myself and ignore the scar that the firebombs caused in the woods. I start to recognize the area more. The clearing that led to the lake that Katniss and her father used to play at. I smile and walk slowly into the clearing. Thankfully, the lake wasn't destroyed with the rest of District 12. I lean contentedly on a tree and stare at the water. Something hits the water and I look up.

"Hey Catnip," I say smiling.


	2. Reunited at last

Katniss' POV

"Hey Catnip," I hear someone say form the other side of the lake. My hearts races as I look up. Tears come to my eyes when I see him. "Gale," I whisper. I wipe the tears from my face and run to greet him. Fresh tears come to my eyes as he hugs me. I take in the familiar scent of grass and earth. I want time to stop. Sadly, Gale breaks the hugs to look at me. His grey eyes are moist and he is grinning. "So Catnip, how have you been?" he asks happily. My smile instantly fades and more tears come to my eyes. Gale sits me down and I start crying. Gale just sits quietly next to me with his arm around my shoulder. "Peeta and I fight," I manage to say through my tears, "A lot. And he's turned into a younger Haymitch. He's drunk all the time and -" I can't speak anymore. My eyes flood with tears as I remember the happy couple we used to be. Gale sighs and hugs me. I rest my head on his chest, hoping that the familiar smells would calm me down. I inhale deeply and smell a scent that I hadn't noticed before. I smelled his chest again and looked up at him. "You smell good," I say after many minutes of crying. He smirks and says, "Thanks... I guess. Come on," He helps me up, "Let's get this thing with Peeta straightened out." He leads me by the hand back through the woods to my mansion. We walk up the steps and quietly open the front door. I give a quiet sigh of relief that Greasy Sae's granddaughter cleans for us. Gale suddenly stops, and I run into his back. "Well hello Peeta," he says coolly.

**Author's Note -**

That's it for the first two chapters of my first fanfic! –confetti-

R&R please! Because if you don't I won't continue… and just to let you know I'm a notorious procrastinator.

Cheers,

Sadey


	3. Well hello

**Gale's POV**

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><p>Peeta squints his bloodshot eyes at me. He staggers forward and I gently push Katniss back. She wraps her hands around my arm. "Whaddaya want?" he asks, taking a swig from the whiskey bottle he was holding. I take a step back and say, "Nice to see you too," I say sarcastically, "Katniss and I met while I was walking. And we decided to come back." Peeta takes another drunken step forward and looks me straight in the eyes. I try to start talking, but Peeta raises his fist and punches me in the mouth. I'm knocked out of Katniss' way. Katniss steps backwards, but Peeta grabs her wrist and pulls her toward him. "Now listen," Peeta says, "Katniss is my wife, and I don't want you messing around with her, gottit?" he hiccups and starts walking up the tall staircase, dragging Katniss along with him. She and I exchange glances and she mouths something like "sorry." I gawk at her sad expression, but get distracted by the blood dripping from my lower lip. I stand up and press my hand to the fresh wound on my lip, searching for something to stop the bleeding.<p> 


	4. What the hell?

**Katniss' POV**

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><p>Peeta drags me upstairs roughly. I look sadly at Gale and his bloody lip. Wait, what the hell just happened? Just as I begin to process the past event, Peeta throws me into one of the many bedrooms in our mansion. He walks in after me and slams the door shut. I look into his bloodshot eyes. "Why did you do that, Peeta?" I ask softly. Peeta stumbles over to me and grabs my arm, pulling me hard up onto my feet. I push Peeta and take a step back. He looks at me, at first shocked, but them angrily. He throws the now empty whiskey bottle at my feet, which I thankfully have enough sense to dodge. "Why did you bring him here?" Peeta asks, trying to stifle a hiccup. I sigh sadly, my eyes filling with tears. "It's just that we haven't seen each other in so long, I thought it would be nice if he stayed here for a few days." I mumble, trying to keep my voice from shaking. Peeta looks at me again and slaps me across the face. The tears run down my cheeks as I touch the redding mark on my cheek. He opens the door again and stumbles out without looking at me. I sit back down on the bed and try to calm myself. Once I stop crying, I walk out side of the room and look over the ledge. I see Gale sitting on one of the chairs trying to stop the bleeding in his lip with, of course, his shirt. I let out another sigh and walk down the stairs towards him. He looks up and smiles. "Hey Catnip," he said. His smile faded when he saw the red, bruising mark on my cheek. He touched it gently. "Did he hit you?" he asks softly. I nod and look away. This all seemed strange. Gale sighs, "Well," he says, "Do you know if you have any needles and thread? And rubbing alcohol?" I turn and give him a confused chuckles and points to his lip, "This isn't going to fix it's self." "Since when did you learn how to suture?" I ask. He chuckles again. "Let's just say we have <em>a lot <em>to catch up on."

* * *

><p>Hope you all liked this chapter. I honestly didn't spend much time on it, so please tell me if there are any corrections to be made. Spring Break is going to end soon so the sooner the better!<p>

Cheers,

Sadey


	5. Who?

**Gale's POV**

* * *

><p>I wince slightly as the cold, alcohol-covered needle pierces the skin of my lip. Jesus Christ my wife is gonna kill me...<p>

"So she's _not_ from Panem?" Katniss asks. I can't help but smile at the surprise in her voice. "Nope," I say, "England. She says 'it's a hell of a lot different than District Twelve', meaning climate wise." Katniss' intrigued face makes me laugh. Her face immediately turns angry. "What's so funny?" she asks. "I guess I'm just used to her, I mean her being from England doesn't really seem that shocking to me." I say. We stay silent for a while until Katniss speaks up. "So you and she are married?" I hear the sadness in her voice, even though she kept her happy, almost cocky, expression. I sigh. "Well, no. Just engaged." I finish stitching up my lip and cut the steril thread Katniss thankfully found. "You're done?" she asks, shocked again. I chuckle nod. She looks me in the eyes and smiles. I smile back, not wanting to leave Katniss. She then pulls me into a warm hug, like the ones my mother would give when I was little. "I'm sure I would love to meet Mercedes. She seems like a great person." Katniss says quietly. I smile to myself and say, "I'm sure she would be glad to meet you too." Another silence, happily not an awkward one. Katniss breaks the friendly hug, "Do you think I could come back to District Two with you? I know you have to go back soon, and I think I need to get out of District Twelve." I stare blankly at her. She laughs and I say, "Uh yeah. That would be perfectly fine with me. But," I look her directly in the eyes, "Peeta is coming with us. The three of us are going to District Twelve together." Katniss' expression turns angry. "Why should he come with us?"

"Because, I want to fix whatever's going on between you two, and I think Shayna can help us."


	6. Still hating coffee

**Katniss' POV**

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><p>Gale and I are silent as we both walk up stairs. I told him that Peeta and I would go back with him to District Two. What was I thinking? Peeta and I almost hate each other, and who knows how long we're going to be there. I mentally slap myself for agreeing to this. "You can sleep here tonight. I'll bring you some clean clothing tomorrow," I say as he reaches his bedroom. He smirks and says, "Will that be okay with Peeta?" I scoff and say, "I'm sure he won't." He smiles at me, and I can't help but look at the neat stitches that mar his face. "G'night Gale," I say. He smiles again and says, "G'night Catnip, we can talk about the trip tomorrow." I smile back at him and he closes the door. I walk into the bedroom next to his and lay down on the bed. No way am I going to even <em>look <em>at Peeta. I touch the bruise on my face and sigh. I doubt that Peeta would agree to going to District Two. I fall into a dreamless sleep and wake up early the next morning. Too early. I groan and sit up to look at the digital clock on the bedside table. 7:30. I roll my eyes and get up. I walk sleepily down stairs and find Gale already sleepily drinking a cup of coffee. My nose wrinkles at the scent. God I hate coffee. I walk over to the table and sit down across from Gale. He looks up sleepily and smiles. "You still don't like coffee?" he asks. I shake my head and shudder. He smirks and takes another sip of his coffee. I yawn and rest my head in my hands. We both look when we hear Peeta come down the stairs. Gale's eyes narrow and he takes another sip of his coffee. Peeta walks into the room without looking at either of us. He pours himself a cup of coffee and walks out. Once Peeta leaves, Gale begins talking again. "So when do you want to leave?" he asks. This question takes me by surprise. He must have noticed that because he adds, "This is starting to annoy me. How does Thursday sound?" He keeps watching to see if Peeta is going to come back. "Uh sure," I say. "But isn't tomorrow Thursday?" Gale nods and smirks, "Yep, I'm going to take a shower now. See ya Catnip." he stands up quickly and walks upstairs before I can say anything. I sigh and look blankly ahead of me. How the hell am I supposed to convince Peeta to come with us in a single day. Well, crap.


	7. Fine with me

**Gale's POV**

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><p>Katniss and I don't really talk for the rest of the morning, so I set off to find Peeta. I find him in a dark bedroom. "Peeta, we need to talk," I say, not caring that he is probably suffering from one hell of a hangover. He's lying face down on a bed in a dark room with a pillow over his head. "What do you want, Gale?" he says from under the pillow. I walk over to his bed and sit on the edge. "I want to know what's going on between you and Katniss," I say. Silence. Peeta glares at me from under his pillow. "Why do you want to know?" he asks angrily. I sigh. This is <em>not <em>going to be an easy task. "You and Katniss don't seem to be getting along anymore and-"

"Get to the point," he interrupts.

"The three of us are going to District Two," I say quickly. Peeta seems unsurprised. "And you decided to do this without me. Typical for Katniss..." he said the last part quietly. "What do you mean?" I ask. He sits up and says, "She's usually the one who makes the decisions around here. And most of them she makes without telling me. It's a bad habit." Peeta leans against the headboard of the bed. I get up to leave. "Well Peeta, see you tomorrow," I say as I walk out the door. "And Gale, I want my shirt back," Peeta calls from the other room. I smile and keep walking. "Sure thing Peeta," I say.


	8. Goodbye District 12

**Katniss' POV**

* * *

><p>I walk outside the house the next morning with my clothes in a bad on my shoulder. The not-yet-humid summer air feels nice against my skin. I can't remember when I was as happy or excited as I am now.<p>

"You ready to go?" Gale's voice behind me makes me jump. He chuckles and picks up my shoulder bag. "I dragged Peeta here already, so once you're comfortable we're leaving." we walk silently to the large car that a tall, blond, man was driving. The driver nods at Gale and Gale smiles. i look up at him questioningly. He looks down at me and says, "He's a close friend. We work together." The blond man rolls down the window. "You know you owe me for this, right Gale?" he says teasingly. Gale smiles and shakes his head. "We'll negotiate later. Just let us get in and drive," He opens the door for me and I step in. The car is spacious, more room than the three of us need. Gale taps on the window that separates us from the drive and we start moving. I watch my house and the burned remains of District Twelve slowly disappear, and then I fall into a dreamless sleep.


	9. Enter, Matt!

**Gale's POV**

* * *

><p>Thankfully, the first part of the long car ride is quiet. Peeta spends his time looking out the window and Katniss is asleep. I spend most of my time talking to the driver. "Yeah Tristan is doing fine. I swear, you and Sadey spend more time with him than Seanna and I do, and she's not too happy with that," he says jokingly. I laugh and he looks in the rearview mirror at Peeta. "So I don't think we've met yet. You are Peeta Mellark?" he says, not even bothering to hide his Scouse accent. Peeta looks up and says, "Yes, I am. And you are..?"<p>

"Matthias Volkton. Gale and I work together. And I'm guessing the girl who has been sleeping for the past few hours is Katniss Everdeen Mellark?"

"Yes," Peeta and I say in unison. We remain silent until we stop at my house. Where Matthias help Peeta and me unload the luggage from the car. Peeta sits sulkily on the marble steps leading up to the house while I try to wake up Katniss. "Come on Catnip, wake up," I say, gently shaking her shoulder. I don't remember her being such a heavy sleeper. After a few minutes me almost violently shaking her, she wakes up. Katniss sits up and looks at me sleepily.

* * *

><p>Wow. I don't know why this took me so long to write. Hope you liked it, cause I wasted time I should have been using to study for exams.<p>

Cheers,

Sadey


	10. Meeting the family sort of

Katniss**' POV**

* * *

><p>I slap Gale's hand away after I awake. I blink to clear my blurred vision. The first things I see are Gale, the blond driver, and Peeta sitting on the steps of a beautiful white mansion. I must be staring, because Gale smirks and says, "Yep, this is where I live. Come on," he helps me out of the car and leads me to the marble steps. The blond driver joins us a few seconds later and we walk up the stairs. We stop at the door while the driver reads a note written in hasty cursive that was attached to the door.<p>

_Dear Gale/Matt/Kenko,_

_In back room. Please bring me a bottle of water. Seanna took Tristan home just in case you were wondering. _

_Gale - Your mum called, wants to know when we are coming for dinner (us being you, me, and whoever else we have with us)_

_Kenko - I'm going to kill you._

_- Shane_

"Shanie, you have always been my favorite. Gale, how about you take mister and misses Mellark to the back room while I get the water," the driver, who is probably Matt, smiles, bows, and walks off. Gale motions for Peeta and me to follow him inside. I am amazed at how the house is decorated. Antique swords and knives, photos, paintings, and other ornaments line the walls. Peeta pulls me forward and I snap out of my state of aw. Gale leads us to a big room in the back of the house and opens the door. Inside, a man dressed in a black suit and a woman dressed in a black, feathered, ball gown. The man had black hair that reminded me of Gale's, dark brown eyes, and skin that was the color of a light beige. The woman had long, blonde, curly hair, and teal eyes. They appeared to be dancing. The man dips the woman and she tilts her head back to look at us. "Hello Gale, and... others," she says. She has the similar golden hair, turquoise eyes, and face shape as the driver, but a totally different accent. The photographer who I didn't notice before takes a picture of them, and they change positions. The man with the black hair looks at us. "Dude, what happened to your face?" he says, a hint of laughter in his voice. The girl turns around and stares at Gale. "Yes, what did happen to your face," she says angrily, with the same accent that Matt has. She lets got of her partner and walks over to Gale. That's when I notice the crazy makeup she has on. Feathered eyelashes, dark red lips, bright eyeshadow. "Let me see," she snaps. Gale reluctantly shows the woman his face and she sighs. "Shane, it's nothing really," Gale says, a hint of either anger or embarrassment in his voice. She shakes ignores his comment and continues to look at his sutures. "Well, it won't scar. Nice job," she turns around to the dark haired man. "I'm done Kyodo. Tell your sister that the make up is giving me a skin rash." The dark haired man smiles and walks towards the door. Gale catches the blonde by the wrist before she leaves. "Shane, these are the people I was telling you about before I left. This is Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark." He gestured to Peeta and me. The blonde towered over both me and Peeta. "Nice to meet ya. Please excuse me. My idiot friend has put me in so much makeup that my skin can't breathe." she walks briskly out of the room. The man named Kyodo comes up to us. "So Gale," he says calmly, "What did you think of that dress?" Gale looks at him and smirks. "Not the best one your sister's ever made." Kyodo laughs and says, "I will do you a favor and not tell her that you said that."

"Tell who what?" another woman walks into the room carrying a half eaten scone and a cup of coffee. "Nothing sissy." Kyodo says quickly. The woman's eyes narrow and she walks over to us. "So where's Shane?" she says. Kyodo takes the scone and finishes it. "The makeup's irritating her skin. Oh yeah," he turns to us, "Kenko, this is Katniss and Peeta Mellark. Gale grew up with them," Kenko nodded and started to walk out the door. "Well if you hear screaming it's from Shane. See ya." She disappears out the door. Kyodo breaks the awkward silence. "Alright, I'm starving. Do you want anything? Shane'll make something after she and Kenko finish fighting. And do you want me to show them where they will be staying?" Gale nods. Kyodo smiles and leads us out of the room and out to the staircase. He points upstairs and says, "Pick a room. I'll tell Matt to put your bags there." I look at Gale. He looks back at me and gestures to the stair case. I follow Peeta as he walks up the stairs and we go into separate rooms.

* * *

><p>It's already been ten chapters? Wow. Hope you like this one, it's by far the longest one I've written, and the chapters will be getting longer.<p>

I'm writing a few more stories right now. Not about the Hunger Games, though. I still don't have enough material written to publish at this moment, so they will probably be published in the next month or so. I'm going to be writing a lot more after the school year is done. Lots of chapters coming in June, including the two other stories that I've been working on when I should be doing math homework. Hehe

And I have gotten some PMs about misusing a Scouse accent. I have a Scouse you assholes. I just don't want to put it into vernacular.

Cheers,

Sadey

Follow me on Twitter? Find me on DeviantART? The username is the same for either :)


	11. Friendly Conversations

**Gale's POV**

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><p>"My god that was awkward," Kyodo says after Peeta and Katniss go upstairs. I look at him and shake my head. "Well it was. Don't deny it," he says defensively. Kenko finally comes down stairs with a sour expression on her face. "Hey sis how about you make -"<p>

"Shut up," she snapped at him. Shane came down the stairs a few seconds later with an equally sour expression on her face. "Don't even bother to ask. I'm making lunch," she walks straight to the kitchen and Kenko walks out the front door, probably to get something out of her messy car. Kyodo laughs and we both walk to the kitchen. Shane is busy preparing god knows what for lunch. She stopped suddenly and looked up at us. "Katniss looks a lot like you."

"Thank you Shane," I say. She rolls her eyes at me and continues to cook. "And you two went to school together, correct?" I nod. Kyodo laughs. We both look at him. "I cannot believe how much alike you two are," he says. Shane rolls her eyes again and continues to cook. He laughs again. Kenko suddenly walks into the kitchen and sits down moodily at the table. She looks at me and pulls out a bottle of what appears to be beer from her purse. "So," she says, opening to bottle of beer, "Your short friend is pretty. And her husband isn't bad looking either." Kyodo laughed and Shane and I rolled our eyes. Okay, my friends are total idiots. I almost feel bad for Katniss and Peeta. They're staying with me and my wife and our crazy friends. Shayna walks over to the table and puts a steaming pot on the table. "What is that?" Kenko says, re-applying her mascara.

"Hell if I know. But it tastes good, so eat." she sits down beside me.

"Well could you at least tell us what's in it?"

"Chicken, some vegetables, and some other stuff I found in the refrigerator. I'll go get the others"

The room goes silent when she walks out of the room. I hear the muffled sound of her knocking on doors and quiet bits of conversation. It's strange hearing Shane's British accent and the accent I grew up with in a conversation. A few minutes later, Shane walks into the room, followed by Katniss and Peeta. Shane gives them each a plate of food and sits them down at the table. We eat until Kenko breaks the silence. "So you two were the two victors of the seventy-fourth Hunger Games, correct?"

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><p>Haha, reading over the past few chapters, I realized I made a mistake with Shayna's name. In Chapter 5 I said her name was Mercedes, but in Chapter 10(?) I said her name was Shayna. I really need to stop writing these at like 2:00 in the morning.<p>

Anyway, the cast of the Hunger Games movies sucks. Just saying.

Cheers,

Sadey


	12. Woah there

**Katniss' POV**

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><p>The question almost made me choke on my food. "Uh yeah, we were," I say cautiously. She nods and takes a bite of her food. "Kyodo and I were in a competition like that, in the Philippines. But there were only thirty competitors. We had to fight in a city that had been destroyed by an atom bomb. Most of us ended up dying from radiation sickness or killing each other. But yeah, we were the last two standing so we won. After that we had to go through a whole bunch or sterilization processes," she took another bite,"And we weren't allowed to go back to Japan to see our family for two years after we won." the room went silent. I have to restrain myself from letting a sigh of relief when the house phone rang suddenly. Shayna sighed angrily and got up to answer the phone. "Hello? Oh Hazelle! Yes, Gale is home. Do you want to speak with him? Sure," she set down the phone, "Gale, your mum wants to speak to you."<p>

"Yeah thanks Shane," he quickly gets up and takes the phone from Shayna, who sits down and eats the food that is on Gale's plate. We stay silent while Gale talks with his mother. "Oh sure mom, I'm know that Shane will love it if she could speak at Posy's career day. Yeah I love you to mom, bye," he hangs up the phone and sits next to Shayna on the chair. "I really hate you," she says. "No problem," he says. "So Shayna, what are you?" Peeta says. Shayna looks up, "I'm a cardiothoracic surgeon. Posy always wanted me to come to her class and speak, and now I'm going." Gale smirks and she flicks his shoulder. Those two act more like friends than a married couple.

"What's wrong with speaking to Posy's class?" Peeta asks.

"I don't like large amounts of small children," she says. Silence. "Well, I'm going to go work. Kyodo come on, I need your precision," Kenko says, dragging Kyodo up with her. Shayna waves at the siblings.

"Are they twins?" Peeta asks again. Shayna nods, "Yep. And they have two other siblings, both are girls." Shayna stands to pick up the plates. Peeta stands up to help her. "Thank you Peeta," she says, smiling sweetly. Peeta smiles back. Gale rolls his eyes. I have to stifle my laughter. Maybe staying here won't be so terrible after all.

* * *

><p>Heh, slight change. Shayna is now a cardio god.<p>

Cheers,

Sadey.


	13. Breakfast

**Gale's POV**

* * *

><p>The next few days go well for me. Katniss and Peeta seem to be getting along with each other better. Shane is off her vacation so she's at work most of the day, and so is Matt. My mother and siblings are going to visit in a few days, so of course Shayna is freaking about it. Katniss is excited, too, since she hasn't seen them in four years. I don't see or hear from Peeta much, but he is obviously happier. Kenko and Kyodo are both as crazy as ever, and Matt's wife is hanging around when Shane and I aren't here so Peeta and Katniss aren't alone in the house.<p>

"Gale, what are you doing?" Shane says.

"Monologue-ing," I say with a smile. The nods slowly and continues to drink her coffee. "Good morning Peeta," she says without looking up from the newspaper she is reading.

"How do you do that? It's kind of creepy..." Peeta says, taking a piece of toast from the counter and sitting down.

"I just have good hearing. It's annoys _him_ to no end," she says, pointing in my direction, "Anyway, Matthias wants to know if you'd like to watch him perform a coronary artery bypass surgery. Not many of his friends are interested in medicine." Did I mention that Shane's whole family is made of surgeons? No? Sorry about that. Matthias is a neurosurgeon, her other brother Anakin is a orthopedic surgeon, and her oldest brother Leon is a trauma surgeon.

"It's a little early in the morning to be asking questions, don't you think? Heh I'll think about it. Probably," Peeta says. Shane smiles sweetly and checks her watch. "Well shit I'm going to be late. See you two later, I have an easy day today. I'll be home around six!" she says as she walks out the door. Peeta and I are left in a borderline-uncomfortable silence. "Is Katniss still asleep or is she avoiding us?" I ask. Peeta smirks and shakes his head.

"Probably sleeping. Do you want me to wake her up?"

"No I'm just wondering... because... yeah..." I say. We both laugh good naturedly at our awkwardness, "Do you think that you are really going to watch Matt perform the sugery?"

"Probably. I always admired the healers in District 12, but I could never become one. Too much stress for me to handle," he says. Peeta's a really nice guy. I wonder why Katniss is so pissed at him...

"I never got the chance to ask. Where do you work now anyways?" Peeta says, breaking my monologue.

"I'm a politician. I most work from here so I don't really have to do much outside of the house, thankfully," What about you?"

"I never really had a job. I baked and sold what I made but I didn't really do it for a living. Katniss and I were doing fine living off what we had."

"Do Greasy Sae and her granddaughter still live with you? I didn't see them when I visited. Sorry about that, by the way."

"No, but they live pretty close to us and help us when we need it. Sorry about your lip, Shane did a good job of fixing it."

I smirk, "Shane's kinda strange. She hates it when I hurt myself, but she loves stitching me back together." Peeta laughs. We finish eating in a nice silence.

"What's for breakfast?" I spin around and see Katniss standing in the doorway.

"Toast and jam. You want some?" Peeta says happily. She shakes her head and sits down at the table. "What time is it?" she asks, suppressing a yawn.

"Nine-thirty. You look like you slept well," I say, searching for any tension between the two. Katniss smiles. "I did," she says,"I guess I'm finally getting used to not being in my own home."

"Well I'm going to take a shower," Peeta says, getting up from the table. He nods in our general direction and leaves the dining area. Katniss and I are left in another silence.

"What's wrong with you and Peeta?" I say.

"What?" Katniss says, clearly shocked by this question.

"What's wrong. You two are acting differently."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Why were you and Peeta fighting when I came to District Twelve? What's going on?" Katniss stood up from the table and left without answering. I sigh and run my hand through my hair. Katniss you ar so goddamn stubborn.


	14. Friendly Conversation

**Katniss' POV**

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><p>Gale and I avoid each other for a few days. He had no right to ask me that. He doesn't really seem to mind the silence, which pisses me off. We come into contact with each other during lunch, and after that we kinda made up.<p>

"Hazelle's coming tonight. Everything is ready," Shayna says as she walks into the dining room. She obviously just got off of work because she has small spots of blood on her shirt and face.

"Hard day?" Gale asks. Shayna just gives him a "what do you think?" look and sits down at the table.

"Shayna can I come to dinner? Our cook's out and you know Seanna and I can't cook very well," Matthias yells from the other room.

"Fine. Bring Tristan, though. You know how much Posy loves him," she yells back, rubbing her hands over her eyes. "Hey Matt, isn't Leon staying with you?"

"Yeah. He and his daughter. Why?"

"Tell them to come too. And Anakin and his wife if you can get them to come over."

"Who?" I ask, not really expecting an answer. Everyone seems preoccupied with other things.

"Her brothers, niece, nephew, and sisters-in-law. Not the most normal people you'll ever meet, but really no one in her family is 'normal'," Gale says. Shayna chuckles and pulls her hair out of the messy ponytail.

"I need a shower. Then I'm going to sleep. Wake me when people start to arrive," Shayna gets up from the table and walks sleepily out of the kitchen.

"Is her family really that bad?" I ask quietly.

"I dunno. What do you consider bad? I think they're absolutely crazy," he says just as quietly. Great. Just great. "Most of Shane's biological family are quick to anger. For example, when you see Shayna's jaw tighten and clench, run. She will crush whatever is closest to her. Her brothers do the same, but they have better tempers."

"Have you ever made Shayna that angry?" I ask jokingly. He hesitates before saying, "Not intentionally, but she almost broke my arm."

"What did you do?"

"Well, the first month we were married, she asked me to bring something to her office. I said something to her when she was in a bad mood and she just kinda snapped," his sheepish smile was obvious. We both laugh. "I'm gonna make sure Matt calls the others. See you at dinner," he says, getting up from the table. I nod and get up too. I think I'm gonna try to sleep too.

* * *

><p>I just realized that I named one of my characters after a Star Wars character. Damn..<p>

Cheers,

Sadey


	15. Hello Hazelle

**Gale's POV**

* * *

><p>Shayna and Katniss are both awake for the most part. Leon and his daughter, Meaghan, are here. And so are Anakin and his wife, Callidora, and Seanna and Tristan. For the most part, everything is going well. Shane hasn't started arguing with her brothers yet, which is a good sign. My mom and siblings arrive shortly after Leon and Meaghan. It seems like Katniss has been anxious about seeing my family for the first time in four years. Posy's eight, Vick's fourteen, and Rory's now eighteen*.<p>

"It's amazing how much your children look like each other, Hazelle," Shayna says to my mother. She and my family have always gotten a long well, thank god.

"Kind of like your family, Shane," my mother replied, hugging Shane and making her way over to me.

"Yes, but my siblings are closer in age," Shane kissed Rory and Vick on the cheek as they came in, "Gale is about eight years older than Rory."

"How many years apart are you from Anakin?" my mom says, "It's nice to see you Gale."

"Nice to see you two, mom," I say, squirming slightly as she kisses my cheek. She may be getting older, but she's still really strong.

"Two. And he is two years younger than Leon," Shayna picks Posy up and carries her over to me, "Say hello to your sister, Gale."

"Hey Posy. You're getting taller," I say. Shayna puts Posy down and walks over to her brothers, "We don't look _that _much alike. Go ahead and sit at the table or wash or whatever. Seanna and Callie will bring out dinner," she says, disappearing into the kitchen. I'm kinda surprised that my mom hasn't seen Katniss yet. I look behind me and see Katniss edging away from the rest of the people. I shake my head and smile, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward me. "Hey mom, you remember Katniss, right?" I say, pushing Katniss infront of me. My mom stops talking and smiles happily. "Of course I do," she pulls Katniss into a tight hug. Rory and Posy attack her next, but Vick stays out of it. Callidora walks out of the kitchen and slowly urges everyone into the dining area.

* * *

><p>* I'm estimating Rory's age. He was old enough to participate in the Hunger Games in Catching Fire. Vick was ten, and Posy was four or five.<p>

I don't really have any other way to get to the point of what I was trying to accomplish in the story. This chapter is definitely not the best, but it will suffice for the present.

And btw, PeetaMellarksKatniss, you the chapter-after-next will make you quite happy, I am sure of it. It's only taken me what, seventeen chapters? Haha..

Cheers,

Sadey


	16. Emergency exit

**Katniss' POV**

* * *

><p>I can't believe that people can change so much appearance wise in four years. Vick looks more like Gale, which is slightly creepy. But what is creepier is that Shayna's siblings looks almost exactly alike. They even do things in sync.<p>

Anyway...

Dinner is not as awkward as I thought it would be. Shayna's family is pretty interesting. I even see Peeta smiling at the things that they say.

"Shayna, would you mind teaching me how to ride horses sometime?," Posy said from across the table. Shayna looked Hazelle before looking at Posy. "If your mum says it's fine you can," she said, a little shakily. I looked at Gale.

"You have horses?" I mouthed at him. He gave me a ghost of a smile and a slight nod. Wow. There was a mix of a buzzing and ringing sound, and Shayna and her brothers took out... I don't really know. Something like a... miniature television screen. The four of them looked at their devices (simultaneously) and sighed.

"Well, Anakin, what did you get?" Matthias asked his brother while picking up something from the floor.

"Some guy got stuck in a... oh god never mind. You really do not want to know," he says, looking back at the device.

"W-what's going on?" Seanna asks.

"Major accident," Leon says.

"So that means I have to be there," Shayna says moodily. She stands up from the table and runs out of the room.

"And I do too. Peeta, do you want to see that surgery?" Matthias says to Peeta.

"Uh sure. Now?" Peeta says, with a slight bit of nervousness.

"Yeah sure. Come on, we have to go." Peeta also stands up to leave.

"Hazelle, would you mind if Meaghan stayed with you for tonight?" Anakin asks hurriedly.

"Yeah, no problem," Hazelle says. Anakin, Leon, and Peeta leave the room. The rest of us sit there in silence.


	17. Well, Hello Again

Jesus Christ I was gone for a long time.

If I knew that so many people were favoriting my story I would have tried to get my account back faster! Every time I got an email about someone adding it to something seriously made me want to cry. Thank you all so much.

My account was hacked by my douchebag cousin. Every time I tried to reset the password he would change it again. After five tries of that, I kind of gave up. Now I'm glad I didn't!

I'm starting a new project. Those of you who have played the Mass Effect games *might* enjoy it. It doesn't have a title yet, but it's in collaboration with TheCookieRaiders, who are currently on hiatus from _their _Hunger Games fanfic because they have a shit load of school work. The chapters will be written under the influence of different songs, and if it goes over well I might try it for this one!

ALSO. I'M CHANGING MY PEN NAME. For a safety precaution.

Cheers,

Sadey


	18. And Away We Go

**Shayna**

* * *

><p>Of course, a major accident happened and I get stuck driving Matt.<p>

"Scrubs?" I love my brother, I really do, but most of the time I want to drive an axe into his skull.

"Manchester FC or pink with white hearts." I mean, how can you not love your own family? Yes, I hate them most of the time, but there is always that little bit of love that will always be there. And I don't actually hate them, I just deteste them in a friendly way.

"I hate it when we're called in during dinner. Hazelle made a cherry pie," Matt says in a sulky tone.

"There's a major medical emergency and all you can think about is pie? You get the pink scrubs." Matt scowls at me.

"They're better than your pies."

"You are _definitely _getting the pink scrubs." We stay in sweet silence for a few minutes, but my twin is too restless to keep it that way.

"Why did you want to leave so badly?" he asks me. I sigh.

"Because it was awkward having Gale's mother a past lover and his current wife at one table. And Katniss' boyfriend husband thing." Matt stifled a laugh. I punched his arm, causing the car to swerve a bit.

"Only you, my dear sister, would think it was awkward. Every one else seemed like they were having a good time. Maybe Peeta, but he just seems like a not happy person." I shrug in response. There does seems like there is some tension between Katniss and Peeta. I don't want to get into it. That's the last thing I need right now. When we reach the parking lot I park as quickly as I can and grab the Manchester scrubs and then run as fast as I can carry myself to the cardio wing. As I leave I hear Matt swear at me, which makes me smile. The suffering of any of my brothers brings me a kind of sick joy. I guess it's a sister thing.

* * *

><p>Sorry for the short chapter.<p>

I cannot apologize enough for totally dying on you!

Anyway, it's great to be back. If you read my previous apology you should know that I'm working on another project that uses music as a writing tool. Sort of.

Cheers,

Sadey


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